A/N: Well, Boards are finally done. Feels like shit, but that's normal, I guess. On to bigger and better things!
With rotations coming up, I don't know whether I'll be able to guarantee weekly updates like I did before Boards. The safest I can say is that I'll fluctuate between once/weekly and once/two week updates, I can't really give you any more than that.
On a more positive note, we've managed to hit an average of 11 reviews per chapter! Thank you very much to everyone who's read and supported this fic, you guys are one of the biggest reasons why I've been so committed to this fic and I hope to continue delivering quality content for you guys to enjoy!
DeaththeWolf: Apparently the "Norman" thing was an error, and now that we have evidence that Evan is the BV's name I'm changing all the Erics to that lol.
A random potato: As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm for the fic, please refrain from asking me to update like you have been doing. I have a very busy schedule as a med student and cannot guarantee that I will be able to update in the prompt and consistent manner like I have been doing in the past.
Chapter 77 – Battle in the Mind Part 1
The first mistake William Afton made was thinking that Mike would actually let him have the first attack.
Mike's words and actions had been carefully chosen, both a taunt and an invitation for Nightmare Springtrap to charge at him. William was so eager to initiate his attack on the man who was the cornerstone of the ghost children's newfound happiness that he had failed to take in his surroundings or sense any sign of impending danger. Mike closed his fist, and before William could move so much as a single step, black spectral chains erupted out of the ground around him.
"WHAT THE…GAH!" Nightmare Springtrap struggled as the chains snaked around his body and bound him with a suffocating grip. Mike thrust his hand downward, and the shackles yanked William down onto the ground, right in the path of three shadowy black spears that had popped out of the ground, all of them aimed straight for William's stomach. The damned monster let out an incoherent yell of fury as Mike summoned three more lightning bolts, identical to the one he had fired earlier except much more powerful, and blasted William with them in quick succession. The shadowy chains and spears faded as Nightmare Springtrap got back onto his feet, the demonic essence he had stolen already healing the wounds inflicted.
Mike chuckled as he caught wind of William's furious expression. "You always got in the first strike in the past," he commented with a smirk. "Did you really think I was going to let you get the opportunity this time around?"
With a howl of rage, Nightmare Springtrap lunged towards Mike with his right claw outstretched, wanting nothing more than to silent the insolent mortal in front of him. As he got closer and closer, he raised his claw and swung it down in front of him…right through the air where Mike had been standing seconds earlier. William had moved surprisingly quickly for a hulking, metal beast…but Mike had moved faster, neatly sidestepping to the left and out of the path of the claw.
"I'm not like the children you butchered," Mike spoke in an almost conversational tone that did nothing to hide the menace that burned in his now scarlet eyes. "I'm not some helpless weakling who can only beg for it to be over quickly. Did you honestly think I was just going to stand here and let you kill me?" His lips stretched into a grin. "You're going to have to work for your kill this time."
Instead of expressing his rage again, William Afton began to laugh. Mike's eyes narrowed. "Something funny?"
"EVERY ENEMY I HAVE FACED UP UNTIL NOW, EVERY VICTIM I HAVE KILLED, THEY WERE ALL SUCH PATHETIC WEAKLINGS!" Nightmare Springtrap explained while still laughing maniacally. "THOSE BRATS IN THEIR USELESS METAL BODIES, MY OWN USELESS SPAWN, DEALING WITH THEM WAS SUCH A TRIVIAL MATTER THAT IT WAS ALMOST TEDIOUS. BUT YOU, SCHMIDT…" his mouth curled upward in a fanged grin. "YOU RESIST IN A WAY THAT THE OTHERS COULD NOT, AND THAT WILL MAKE THE MOMENT WHEN I FINALLY BUTCHER YOU ALL THE MORE SATISFYING!"
"Then come and get me!" Mike challenged, and as William attacked him again with his claws he sidestepped twice, avoiding the murderer's claws just as easily as he had last time. William's eyes narrowed…there was no way that a middle-aged man should have been able to evade his attacks so effortlessly.
Before he could get in another round of attacks, Mike counterattacked. He raised his hand in the air, and all around him large blades began to manifest into existence. Blades that looked as though they had been taken straight from the scythe of the Grim Reaper himself, made of black shadows that glowed with a faint purple flame. Mike threw his hand forward, and the blades suddenly flew towards William, spinning wildly.
William's eyes widened as the shadow scythe blades converged on his location and he was forced to abandon his attack to protect himself. At first, the murderer handled his defense quite well, being able to successfully deflect two blades outright with powerful slashes, and managed to catch the third one between his claws before shoving it away from his head. Unfortunately for him, the extra time it took to fend off the third blade left him vulnerable, and he had no time to shield himself as the fourth blade sliced right through his side and left a gaping tear deep into his flank.
Nightmare Springtrap let out a feral snarl as he clutched at his side, dodging the last two blades instead of trying to block them like he had done previously. Already, he could feel the wound starting to close, but that knowledge did nothing to improve his mood. For this was the second time Mike had successfully struck against him, while he had failed to deal a single successful blow in return.
Mike smirked as he saw the expression on William's face. "You know," he began almost conversationally, "ever since those kids first came into my life, I always had the strangest feeling in my gut that one day, someway or somehow, we'd end up crossing paths with each other. I know it's odd to think about," he added with a chuckle, "after all, you're supposed to be burning in Hell for the rest of eternity while the kids stay safe and happy with me. But I've never been one to ignore my gut, and look where we are now."
He interrupted his speech to dodge two more slashes from Nightmare Springtrap's claws. "And now I can't help but wonder…was this preordained? Was our battle meant to be?" He shrugged. "Not that I can really complain, even though I'm pretty sure a lot of people would be if they were in my shoes. After all…" at this, Mike's scarlet eyes flashed for a second, "…now I can finish what my kids and Nightmare started."
Nightmare Springtrap charged at him again, this time carefully studying Mike's posture even as he advanced closer and closer. The moment the man dodged, he would make sure to change his position and attack wherever the man moved; he would not fall trick to his cat-and-mouse plays a third time.
Except that Mike had no intention of thwarting his enemy's attack the same way as last time. Instead of dodging to the side, the man lowered his right hand toward the ground and swung it upward in an underhand swing. A row of shadow black spears, the heads engraved with the image of a skull, shot out of the ground in front of Mike, forming a barrier that protected him from any frontal assault. William's eyes widened and he desperately tried to slow himself, but he had gathered too much momentum in his charge. He crashed against the wall of spears and was sent sprawling backward, stumbling to maintain his balance. The spears sank back into the ground and disappeared…and Mike had vanished along with them.
William searched around him, trying to find his enemy before Mike could get the drop on him with a free attack. The sound of a throaty chuckle that sounded exactly like Freddy Fazbear's laugh echoed behind him and he whirled around. Mike was standing behind him, a few feet away…and floating behind and above him was a gigantic Freddy head, its white pupils glittering with malice and fury from black eyes.
"You know, I always thought that game was a bit overrated for all the hype it riled up," Mike mused, and then he smirked. "But shooting huge laser beams from giant floating cannons? Sign me the fuck up."
Before Nightmare Springtrap could say anything, the Freddy head opened its mouth and unleashed a devastating beam of pure white energy straight towards him. The beam crashed into him far too quickly for him to dodge, and his world exploded into pain.
/
Gabe floated towards the front door both to welcome the Nightmares and to make sure that the demons didn't have any malevolent intentions toward his siblings. "You're here!" he gasped. "Thank God you're here. William's already attacked us."
"IGNORING THE FACT THAT YOU INVOKED THE NAME OF GOD IN OUR PRESENCE," Nightmare Fredbear growled. "WHERE IS WILLIAM AFTON? WE HAVE A SCORE TO SETTLE WITH THE MONGREL, AND OUR VENGEANCE WILL NOT BE DENIED."
"He went up to Dad's room…" Susie answered from behind Gabe, "and I think he…possessed him, or something? Dad's laying on his bed completely knocked out cold. Charlie's watching over him right now." She shuddered. "I don't think I want to know what's happening to him."
Nightmare's face took on a thoughtful expression. "SO…EVENTS ARE PROCEEDING EXACTLY AS I HAD FORESEEN, AND AS YOUR FATHER AND I HAD ARRANGED." His mouth spread open into a churlish grin that showcased his razor-sharp fangs. "THE FACT THAT WILLIAM AFTON IS NOT STANDING IN FRONT OF YOUR FATHER'S BROKEN BODY, GLOATING OVER HIS VICTORY, MEANS THAT EVEN NOW MIKE SCHMIDT IS WAGING WAR AGAINST HIM. AS FOR THE DETAILS…"
"FREDBEAR!" He suddenly barked an order to his golden-colored brother. "COME WITH ME UP TO SCHMIDT'S ROOM. THE MOMENT WILLIAM AFTON RESURFACES, WHETHER IN VICTORY OR DEFEAT, WE WILL BE THERE TO BRING HIS LITTLE GAME TO AN END." Nightmare then turned to Nightmarionne. "NIGHTMARIONNE…ENTERTAIN OUR LITTLE FRIENDS. MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT INTERFERE WITH OUR BUSINESS."
"OF COURSE, BROTHER…" Nightmarionne replied, ignoring the growing feelings of nervousness and fear in the ghost children's eyes. As Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmare ascended the staircase, somehow warping reality to avoid crushing the stairs underneath their feet, Nightmarionne turned to his face the ghostly children. His eyes glittered with delight as the children slowly retreated to the living room, where the two Afton brothers were watching over their wounded sister.
"COME, CHILDREN…" Nightmarionne beckoned with his long, spindly fingers. "LET'S PLAY A GAME TOGETHER. HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
/
Charlie looked up towards the door as Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmare marched into Mike's bedroom. "Finally…" she breathed a sigh of relief. "Help has arrived."
"INDEED, LITTLE PUPPET GIRL," Nightmare drawled. "HOWEVER, BEFORE I TAKE ANY FURTHER ACTION, I WISH TO…INSPECT THE LANDSCAPE OF MIKE'S MIND. STAND ASIDE."
Charlie immediately did so, and the demon lord stepped in front of Mike's unconsciousness body. He raised a clawed hand towards Mike's head until it was a few inches away, and immediately began swirling his hand in a circle. Flames began to gather in his hand until they suddenly expanded outward, creating a black scrying portal wreathed in flame. Images began to form in the portal, until the Freddy Fazbear-themed arena and the battle between Mike and William solidified into full focus.
Nightmare's eyes gleamed with delight, and he let out an amused chuckle as he watched William try to attack Mike with the same savage fury, but the man repelled the monster yet again, this time with a howling wall of black wind that raged around Mike, shielding him from all sides and sending William flying backward. "I HAD HOPED THAT YOU WOULD STILL BE FIGHTING WHEN I ARRIVED, SCHMIDT…" he mused. "I AM PLEASED TO SEE THAT YOU DO NOT DISAPPOINT."
"What's going on?" Despite her lingering fear of both the Nightmares and William, Charlie couldn't resist the temptation to see what was going on in her father's mind. She approached Nightmare's side and peered into the portal, right in time to see Mike conjure up a Chica head next to him. Even from the bedroom, Charlie could see the flash of surprise in Nightmare Springtrap's eyes before the Chica head opened its mouth and let out a hideous screech, almost identical to the original animatronic's scream but somehow even more hideous and terrifying. William closed his eyes and screamed, grabbing at his Nightmare forms' ears as the scream tore through his ears and into his very being. From what Charlie could see, the attack did no actual harm to her murderer, but it didn't need to. Mike had taken full advantage of his distraction to summon two more Freddy blasters, firing their deadly beams straight through William before he could recover and dodge in time.
"IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN THAT TO DEFEAT WILLIAM, WITH THE ESSENCE THAT HE HAS STOLEN FROM US…" Nightmare commented approvingly, "BUT I CAN MOST CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE TACTICS BEING USED BY YOUR FATHER. I SEE NO NEED TO INTERRUPT THEIR BATTLE AT THIS TIME."
Anger surged through Charlie, overriding her fear as she looked up to glare at Nightmare. "WHAT?" she shouted. "You promised to help our dad! You promised to make sure that William Afton didn't succeed. Dad trusted you. Hell, a part of me even respected you, no matter how much I hate to admit it. And now you're telling me you LIED to him?"
"BE SILENT, LITTLE BRAT!" Nightmare Fredbear snarled furiously, but before he could say or do anything further Nightmare lifted a hand to calm his brother.
"ENOUGH, BROTHER" he interrupted. "HER COMPLAINTS ARE UNDERSTANDABLE, AND EVEN IF THEY WERE NOT, DO YOU REALLY THINK I CARE ABOUT THE MEANINGLESS INSULTS OF A MERE MORTAL GIRL?" He turned to gaze at Charlie. "I GAVE MY WORD TO YOUR FATHER THAT I WOULD COME TO HIS AID AT HIS MOMENT OF NEED. I MADE NO MENTION OF HELPING HIM BEFORE THAT POINT. AS YOU CAN SEE," he gestured towards the portal, in which Mike was unleashing a barrage of lightning bolts from the sky, causing William to scramble around to avoid getting blasted by them, "SCHMIDT IS FULLY CAPABLE OF DEALING WITH THE MATTER AT HAND, AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING. I WILL DELIVER HIM FROM WILLIAM AFTON'S RAGE WHEN HE APPROACHES THE BRINK OF DEFEAT, BUT NOT ONE SECOND SOONER."
Charlie still looked outraged, but Nightmare wasn't finished. "THERE IS ANOTHER REASON WHY I WILL NOT FULFILL MY OATH TO SCHMIDT AT THE MOMENT." He turned to look down at the battle. "I AM MANY THINGS. A LORD OF HELL, A TORTURER OF THE DAMNED. BUT SAVE FOR MY TITLE AS THE MASTER OF MY FELLOW NIGHTMARES, I AM A WARRIOR FIRST AND FOREMOST. AND AS A WARRIOR, THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT THAN TO INTERFERE IN THE DUEL OF ANOTHER WARRIOR, ESPECIALLY A BATTLE AS PERSONAL AND WITH GREAT IMPORTANCE AS THIS ONE. I WILL NOT DISRESPECT SCHMIDT IN SUCH A MANNER, ESPECIALLY WITH THE POSSIBILITY THAT HE MAY VERY WELL TRIUMPH OVER WILLIAM AFTON."
Charlie gritted her teeth but didn't challenge the demon. She wouldn't even begin to think about how Nightmare's mind worked, but the demon lord seemed to think that Mike could beat William even without his help, and his refusal to immediately come to Mike's aid actually gave her hope in a bizarre way.
"STILL…" Nightmare conceded, "IT MAY BE WISE FOR ME TO KEEP A CLOSER EYE ON THE DUEL, JUST IN CASE AFTON SECURES AN ADVANTAGE OVER SCHMIDT THAT IS BOTH SUDDEN AND SIGNIFICANT. NIGHTMARE FREDBEAR," he ordered his brother, "STAY HERE AND STAND GUARD. SHOULD WILLIAM AFTON ATTEMPT TO FLEE FROM SCHMIDT'S MIND, YOU WILL BE THE ONE TO PREVENT HIS ESCAPE."
Nightmare Fredbear nodded, and Nightmare began to dissolve into a cloud of black smoke. The black smoke entered Mike's body and vanished into him, leaving only Nightmare Fredbear and Charlie behind in the bedroom. Nightmare Fredbear gave the brown-haired ghost girl a churlish grin. "SCHMIDT IMPRESSED ME WITH HIS WORDS WHEN WE CROSSED PATHS," he commented. "PRAY THAT HIS BITE IS AS STRONG AS HIS BARK."
/
William let out yet another howl of frustration as he felt a scythe blade tear through his armguards. During the course of their battle, Mike had summoned a Bonnie head for the first time, and instead of opening its mouth the rabbit's eyes had flashed the entire battlefield with a brilliant white light that had completely blinded William. The only reason why he hadn't been impaled in the head was because the murderer had instinctively lifted his arms to protect his head, causing the scythe blades that Mike had hurled at William to tear through his upper limbs instead.
"YOU COWARD!" William roared as the spots of light faded from his vision. "FIGHT ME WITH HONOR, INSTEAD OF HIDING BEHIND YOUR PATHETIC TRICKS!"
The only answer to his protest was a bout of mocking laughter. "Honor?" Mike repeated with a sneer on his face. "Do you even know what that word means?" His hands started to glow with purple flames. "You had no honor in life…" a circle of six black scythe blades spun towards William, who by now had learned to dodge them all rather than try to block them one at a time, "…you had no honor in death…" chains writhed out of the ground and snaked towards William, who only barely managed to avoid them as they tried to shackle him down onto the square of spears that had erupted out of the ground where he had been standing seconds earlier, "…and you will get none from me!"
Three Freddy heads materialized and blasted their beams of energy towards William, who rapidly and carefully maneuvered around the deadly blasts as he tried to approach Mike for yet another attack. He had noticed that Mike seemed fully intent on keeping as much space between them as much as possible…if he could land just one lethal attack…
…that hope was not to be, for Mike called a lightning bolt onto William just as he was about to land the lethal strike he so desperately desired. The dark energy crashed onto Nightmare Springtrap's head, killing his momentum and his focus, and it gave ample time for Mike to neatly sidestep the attack like he had done so many times before. "WHEN I GET MY CLAWS ON YOU, I WILL MAKE YOU BEG FOR THE FIRES OF HELL!" the monster swore as he lunged at Mike again. The man summoned another barrier of dark wind that protected him as effectively as before.
Mike laughed contemptuously at the threat. "What an impressive threat," he mockingly praised. "A grand threat indeed, for an imbecile who has proven too incompetent to land so much as a single hit on me."
Nightmare Springtrap bellowed in rage and leaped at Mike, hands outstretched to throttle the insolent mortal. Mike merely smirked and vanished into the shadows, causing William to crash harmlessly onto the ground as his enemy reappeared a few feet away. Throughout their battle, Mike had avoided each and every single one of William's attacks through one method or another. A sidestep to the left or right. A wall of spears. A barrier of dark wind. A teleportation away. Each and every time, Mike evaded William's deadly claws in a different matter, save for the times when he dodged in the same way twice to throw William off even further. There was no pattern, no consistency to any of his movements. The spontaneity made it impossible for Nightmare Springtrap to plan a proper offensive, a fact that only served to heighten his frustrations.
"It's funny…" Mike mused. "You think that the demonic power that you stole makes you so much greater, and yet I would have feared you more as the human you once were instead of the monster that you have become."
William's eyes narrowed. "YOU ARE EVEN MORE OF A FOOL THAN I BELIEVED, THEN." he growled. "DO YOU NOT SEE THE POWER THAT I NOW WIELD? DID YOU NOT WITNESS ME TEAR THE METAL BODIES OF YOUR CHILDREN TO SCRAP?"
"And yet for all your power, you have no idea how to use it other than at the most basic level," Mike sneered, interrupting himself to summon a Freddy blaster and fire at William. It was a haphazard attempt and one that William easily evaded; neither of them were particularly interested in fighting for that brief moment. "As a human, you were able to successfully hide your true nature from everyone. You put on the guise of a respectable member of society, hiding the violent sociopath and monster underneath. You were able to fool my kids into following you into their deaths, and escaped justice until the day they trapped you in that deathtrap of a suit. And you did the same with the Funtime animatronics, with no one suspecting the danger that lurked underneath."
The grudging, almost pensive quasi-respect in Mike's tone immediately vanished, replaced by contempt and scorn. "But all you are now is a savage, frenzied, blithering imbecile," he spat, the sneer on his face returned in full force. "All that power you claim to wield, and you couldn't manage to kill so much as a single person. And don't even get me started on the trap pizzeria, because I've got to say, your idiocy is nothing short of spectacular. Liz had an excuse in that she was just a child following your lead. Charlie had an excuse that she was secretly trying to help Michael out. Molten Freddy had an excuse in that he was had gone batshit insane and was little better than a talking animal. But you? You knew that the pizzeria was a lie. You knew that something was wrong about the whole thing. And yet you blundered into your death anyway. You wouldn't have lasted a week out in the streets if it wasn't for that fucking fursuit."
Interrupting himself mid-sentence, Mike conjured up another giant Bonnie head and a giant Chica head, but this time William was ready. He covered his eyes to protect them from the worst of the giant flash bang, and covered his ears to shield his wits from the hideous, piercing scream. "You wouldn't have lasted a single fucking day. The only reason your worthless existence continued after getting shish-kebab'd when my kids caught you was because of the experiments you fucked around with when you were still alive."
Blank shock flickered in Nightmare Springtrap's eyes, piercing even through his ceaseless rage towards the former night guard. How had he…he hadn't even told Elizabeth about Remnant. "Oh yes, William Afton…" Mike hissed, with a look of satisfaction and delight on his face that could only be described as cruel, "I know all about Remnant. I know that it's the reason why my kids and you had your souls trapped in the bodies of the animatronics in the first place. I learned about its true nature when I went digging in Henry's past…and through yours. I wonder…when did you discover Remnant's horrible potential? When did you take something that started out as innocent metal, and started perverting it to your own fucked up designs?"
Even if William would have deigned to answer, Mike didn't give him the chance to. "Well, it doesn't really matter at this point now, does it?" he asked. "After all, it won't ever be able to enslave anyone's soul ever again. With the children you slaughtered, with the daughter you betrayed, I burned your entire life's work to a pile of ash, and I enjoyed every second of it!"
Nightmare Springtrap let out a bellow of rage and charged at Mike, swinging his claws wildly as he frenziedly attacked the man who had been responsible for the destruction of his life's work. Mike didn't even blink in the face of William's rampage as he moved with inhuman speed, dodging and sidestepping every single attack with the same unperturbed nonchalance that he had demonstrated throughout the entire battle. His casual attitude throughout the entire display seemed to enrage William even further; how had this mere mortal soul put up such frustrating resistance against his sheer power for this long?
Having grown bored of seeing William try and fail to land a single hit on him yet again, Mike extended his hand towards his enemy. Nightmare Springtrap's body began to glow with a dark purple aura as he found himself being lifted into the air. "WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?" William demanded as he flailed about trying to break free from whatever spell Mike had cast on him.
"No tricks. Only pain." Mike clenched his hand into a fist that glowed the same purple aura…and then smashed it straight into William's stomach. The punch unleashed a wave of dark energy that sent the murderer flying across the arena, his trajectory stopped only when he smashed into the wall next to the entryway leading to the Parts and Services. The damned soul gritted his teeth in pain as he struggled to get on his feet; he could feel Mike's empowered fist crush his abdomen, and it was taking his regeneration capabilities longer than usual to heal off the damage from such a direct and brutal attack.
Mike, in the meantime, had teleported up to his enemy so that he was only standing a few feet away, watching him carefully the entire time. "You know, there are so many reasons why I despise every fiber of your being, but out of all of them, the way you fucked around with Liz's head had got to be on the top of the list," he growled, his voice emanating a cold rage that hadn't been there in any of his previous dialogue. "All she wanted was a father to love her, someone to take care of her after you left her to rot in your fucking funhouse of horrors for years. And when she finally found you, all you saw was just another tool to carry out your sick and twisted goals. What lies did you whisper into her ear? What false, empty promises did you dangle in front of her to delude her into following your every whim, like a puppet on a string? The only reason why you didn't destroy every bit of goodness in her soul was because Henry destroyed you all before the point of no return." He scoffed and spat at Nightmare Springtrap's feet. "My father might have been a bastard that made my entire childhood a living hell, but I'd rather spent ten years with him at his worst than ten seconds with you."
William sneered. "SHE WANTED TO MAKE ME PROUD," he retorted, "AND I MERELY TOLD HER THE MEANS BY WHICH SHE COULD DO SO. ANY SINS THAT SHE COMMITS IS ON HER HEAD, AND HERS ALONE."
Mike's eyes flashed with cold fury. "The only reason why she ever committed those sins in the first place was because of you!" he spat. "Don't you dare put this on her. And even if her crimes were her own fault, she turned away from the dark path you forced on her and found her way back into the light, no thanks to you!" He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "She's mine now. My daughter, not yours. You lost any right to call yourself her father the moment you let her get killed by Baby all those years ago. I've given her more love and compassion in the first five seconds I've met her than you have for her entire existence, both in life and in death. And after seeing how little you give a damn about your children outside of how useful as they are as pawns in your fucked-up plans, I honestly have to wonder…how the fuck did a piece of shit like you ever make a family in the first place?"
The moment Mike finished his words, Scrap Baby's head appeared behind his shoulder, her green eyes glowing hatefully at her former corrupter. Nightmare Springtrap glared at it intently, waiting for it to attack him like the Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica heads had done. But instead, two metal claws appeared on each side of Mike, larger even than the scythe blades that Mike had been using to attack up until this point. The pincers snapped threateningly twice and then launched themselves at William, who swung his claws to deflect their attacks like he had done previously. But instead of vanishing upon being repelled, the claws swung around and tried to attack William from different angles and directions, the relentless assault a dark representation of Liz's determination to protect her father from any threat. It took all of Nightmare Springtrap's concentration to avoid what would almost certainly have a been a crippling blow from Scrap Baby's pincers, and he failed to notice the new threat that Mike had conjured. The moment Scrap Baby's attack finally vanished, a manifestation of Foxy the Pirate lunged at William from Mike's direction, his one open eye glowing with malice and his mouth opened in a hate-filled snarl. The Foxy simulacrum crashed into William, tackling him to the ground, as it began slashing and swinging its hook at William with the same berserk frenzy that the murderer had himself futilely exhibited on Mike seconds earlier. But for all its savagery, it lacked the raw might that William enjoyed thanks to his demonic power. Ignoring the scratches and wounds inflicted upon his body, William reached out and grabbed the Foxy specter by the throat, using his other hand to tear open huge gashes in its body while the animatronic struggled fruitlessly in his grasp. With a roar, William grabbed Foxy's legs and lifted him high into the air, before smashing the pirate fox's body and spine against his knee. The Foxy imitation let out one pitiful, agonized scream before finally laying still, William not even sparing it a glance as he tossed the broken corpse to the side and it dissolved into nothingness.
But Mike had already prepared the next stages of his attack while his enemy had been occupied. Perhaps he had gotten bored of seeing William fruitlessly attack him again and again, or perhaps the reminder of his crimes against his daughter had ignited his fury underneath his calm and dispassionate facade. Regardless of the reason, the attacks he now unleashed upon William possessed much greater intensity and complexity than anything he had thrown at the monster up until that point. Instead of using one type of attack at a time, he now began to combine them in unpredictable and deadly patterns that Nightmare Springtrap found almost impossible to fully keep track of and evade. Shadow scythe blades hurled themselves at William from one direction while bolts of dark lightning rained down upon around him to cut off his escape. Freddy blasters fired deadly beams of energy both directly at him and at his sides while black spears shot up from the ground to try and impale him from below. William was forced to abandon offense entirely and focus entirely on protecting himself as Mike watched on, waiting for Nightmare Springtrap to dare to try and attack him in the middle of such a relentless onslaught.
With so many attacks unleashed at him from all sides, it was impossible for William to keep himself unharmed. As he slammed aside a blade that had tried to impale him from behind, Mike summoned another Bonnie head in front of him. The murderer tried to protect his eyes from the blinding light that he knew was coming, but he was too slow. Bonnie's eyes flashed and William covered his eyes in pain, not noticing the chains that had wrapped themselves around his legs. The bindings pinned his feet to the ground, leaving him helpless against the salvo of lightning bolts, Freddy blaster beams, and scythe blades that Mike launched against him all at the same time. William howled, feeling true pain and agony for the first time that night, as the attacks smashed into him one after the other. It was only after he fell to his knees that Mike finally relented, the man's lips curled into a smirk at all the damage that he had inflicted.
William felt the demonic essence in his body try to heal the damage it had taken, only to realize that his body wasn't rejuvenating as quickly as it had been beforehand. It was taking nearly twice the time for it to recover as it had in the past, and he could see marks, burns, and wounds that would have healed completely had they been inflicted earlier in the battle. A trace of fear cut through his rage as he could find only one possible explanation; Mike had started to inflict enough damage to his essence that even his demonic regeneration couldn't fully heal it anymore.
Mike, in the meanwhile, was beginning to breathe more heavily, a look of exertion on his face as he gritted his teeth. An idea started to form in William's mind…perhaps he could force Schmidt to tire himself out, leave himself vulnerable for the kill. For all the power he had displayed, his was still only a mortal, and a mortal's endurance was nothing compared to his own.
Now with a purpose in mind, William charged at Mike, hoping to bait out his more elaborate methods of defense and weaken him further. Dodging a Freddy blaster and a lightning bolt, he slashed both of his claws widely in an arc to cover as much room as possible, forcing Mike to teleport away and appear behind him. Knowing that he had to stop William from gaining more momentum, Mike summoned another Foxy phantom and two Scrap Baby claws and sent them towards Nightmare Springtrap. With the two of them attacking at the same time, William had a harder time fighting them off than he did previously, and as he blocked Foxy's strikes he failed to notice one of the claws close in around his side and close around his flank until it was too late.
William howled as the teeth on Scrap Baby's metal pincer crushed into his side and tore open a huge chunk of metal and ethereal flesh from his body. Snarling, William grabbed the claw and began to savagely pummel both the other claw and the spectral Foxy on the head with his makeshift weapon. Though both continued to assault the murderer with single-minded ferocity and even managed to inflict some minor damage on William's body, it wasn't very long before he triumphantly smashed all three into broken pieces that immediately dissolved into nothingness.
"This is your true self, isn't it?" Mike questioned, his voice now a low hiss. "A savage, egotistical beast with no compassion or thought for anyone or anything other than yourself. You tried to disguise it behind the masks of a scientist, an inventor, and even a father. But you could never truly hide the rot in your soul, a rot that tainted and ruined everything you ever touched. Your transformation into Springtrap merely tore those masks off and revealed who you truly are for everyone to see."
He snapped his fingers, and Golden Freddy heads began to appear in a circle all around the arena. With a grin, Mike vanished, and the Golden Freddy heads began to fire one at a time, creating an ever-rotating beam of destruction that edged closer and closer to William's location. Nightmare Springtrap snorted contemptuously at how easy this attack would be to avoid compared to the others…up until a much larger Freddy head appeared, this one aimed straight for him. William threw himself to the side, the Freddy blaster missing him by inches, and immediately took off running to avoid the ever-approaching attacks from the Golden Freddy heads. The next few seconds seemed to pass by at a blur as William focused all his attention on evading both types of blasters. He kept a close watch on his surroundings for any sign of ambush, a decision that proved wise when Mike attempted to sneak in both a Bonnie and a Chica head in place of one of the Golden Freddy heads at different times. William managed to avoid the worst of both with little more than minor irritation, and he wondered contemptuously if his would-be victim was beginning to lose his touch.
Then the Golden Freddy heads turned into Shadow Freddy heads, and the entire arena plunged into complete darkness. William could see nothing save for the white eyes and teeth of Shadow Freddy, not even the beams that had been firing from their mouths. William looked around him frantically, trying to find any sign of an incoming attack, when his body exploded with the same pain he had felt whenever a Freddy blaster had successfully attacked him in the past. As soon as the pain faded, William began to move about wildly, hoping to simply avoid the invisible beams from the Shadow Freddy heads by sheer dumb luck. It wasn't until he had been blasted three more times that he realized that Shadow Freddy's teeth still moved in the same way that Golden Freddy's had done whenever it was about to attack, and with that knowledge he could finally begin to track the path of the beams. Mike seemed to realize that William had come to this realization, for the heads soon vanished afterwards and the light returned to the arena. William noted that Mike seemed noticeably more fatigued than he had been earlier, an observation that brought him no small amount of satisfaction and anticipation for all the pain he had caused him.
"YOU ARE AT THE EDGE OF YOUR LIMIT, MIKE SCHMIDT," William declared, smelling blood and victory in the air even as he forced himself to ignore the wounds all around his own body. "I CAN SENSE YOUR EXHAUSTION, SMELL YOUR WEAKNESS. I WILL ADMIT THAT YOU PUT UP A MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE RESISTANCE THAN I COULD HAVE POSSIBLY ANTICIPATED, BUT IT WILL SOON COME TO AN END. YOUR DOOM IS AT HAND, NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU SEEK TO DELAY IT."
"I have more fight in me than you think," Mike retorted, "and even if I was on my last breath, I will never give in to a monster like you. If you want victory so badly, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead corpse!"
"A REQUEST I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO FULFILL!" William snarled as he swung his claw down on Mike's head. The man summoned up another wall of black spears to deflect the attack, and after teleporting to a safe distance away, began to throw every single attack that he had utilized during the entirety of their battle up until that point. With all the intelligence he had gathered on Mike's attack patterns throughout their duel, William weaved and forced his way through the storm of attacks that the man sent his way. He had learned exactly which attacks were the most dangerous and focused on avoiding them entirely, even accepting pain and damage from a "lesser" attack when he had to choose between being hit by one or the other. As he shoved a Scrap Baby claw aside and pounced to the right to avoid three Freddy blasters and a lightning blast, he managed to catch a glimpse of Mike. There was no mistaking it – he could see the encroaching fatigue more clearly than ever, and the grimace on Mike's face made it clear that he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up for much longer.
With the prospect of victory so close, William abandoned all caution to the wind and charged straight for Mike. Lightning bolts rained down upon him and Freddy blasters fired their beams directly at him, but he ignored the pain they caused, so eager was he to finally claim victory over the one man who had caused him more grief than even Henry. Panic flashed in Mike's eyes as he intensified his barrage of attacks, but William no longer cared. Even as a Foxy simulacrum tore a gash across his abdomen with his hook and a scythe blade sliced cleanly through his shoulder, William pounced straight towards Mike…
…and sunk his claws straight into the man's chest.
Mike yelled in shock and pain as everything that he had conjured vanished into nothingness. Both he and William were staring down at the grievous wounds that the latter had inflicted, all of which were now spurting blood, as though neither of them could believe that Nightmare Springtrap had actually landed a successful and deadly blow on a man who had managed to effortless avoid any sort of damage up until this point. William began to laugh, a wild, insane, cruel laugh as he began to imagine the atrocities he could inflict upon the father of the ghostly brats now that he held the man in his grasp.
Only to realize that he wasn't the only one laughing.
"Well, well…I have to admit, I'm surprised you managed to actually land a hit on me," Mike commented. William immediately began to sense that something was wrong…the man was speaking far too calmly and with far too much clarity for someone who had had his chest sliced open. "I guess I got too careless…I didn't intend to let you hit me at all for the first part of our little game."
"WHAT ARE YOU BLATHERING ABOUT?" Nightmare Springtrap snarled. His earlier feeling of triumph had completely vanished, replaced by growing unease and uncertainty; there was no trace of fear, pain, or even the fatigue that he had noticed earlier in their battle. Something was very, very wrong.
"Did you really think that I would be this easy to kill?" Mike mockingly questioned. "Did you honestly think that you would win the entire battle as soon as you managed to land in one good hit? If you did, then you're even more of a fool than I took you for."
Moving far more quickly than William could have expected for someone who had seemingly suffered a crippling and mortal blow, Mike raised a fist glowing with deadly energy and slammed it straight onto Nightmare Springtrap's face. The force of his surprise attack created a small explosion of darkness that sent Nightmare Springtrap flying backward, the murderer too taken by surprise to defend himself as he was sent sprawling to the ground. Even as he tried to get back on his feet, the ground began to rumble as cracks and fissures began to tear through the ground. The pieces of the floor began to fall away, revealing a seemingly bottomless black abyss, empty and vast, that was growing with every second that passed. William began to panic as he scrambled to his feet and tried to outrun the collapsing floor, but he was too slow. Right as he was about to fall into the yawning void, two chains reached out and snaked around his wrists, keeping him suspended above the darkness.
Forcing his gaze away, he looked up to see the spectral form of the Marionette towering above him, the other ends of the chains extending from its fingers like strings. The Puppet glared down at William, her white eyes flickering with undisguised hatred. In front of him, Mike stood at the edge of the abyss, his wounds from Nightmare Springtrap's final attack already healed.
"Enjoy your second descent into the depths, William Afton," the man taunted, and with those words the Marionette released her chains. William screamed a final, unintelligible curse as he fell into the abyss, his fleeting moment of triumph invalidated and destroyed by the knowledge that Mike had been playing him for a fool during the entirety of their battle.
The last thing he saw was Mike waving mockingly at him from far above, and the last thing he heard was the derisive laughter of the children he had butchered, a perfect mirror to his own cruelty when he had laughed at the violent deaths that he had inflicted upon his victims.
And then his entire world fell into darkness.
/
A/N: Whoo boy, this was a hell of a chapter to write. And we haven't even gotten to the REAL battle yet.
Those of you well-versed in video game culture probably recognized the parallels to the Sans battle in Undertale's Genocide Route. And you'd be right. Mike did use the infamous Sans battle as an inspiration for how he conducted the first part of this battle…the biggest example being the Freddy blasters.
Some of you might very well be disappointed by the lack of action considering how much this battle has been hyped up. Why didn't William Afton do anything to attack other than physical charges and claw strikes? Why didn't Mike use so much as a single physical weapon of any kind during the entirety of this stage? I actually have quite a few explanations for why I (and by extension, Mike) played this battle out the way I did.
The first and biggest reason is that Mike was NEVER fighting William Afton seriously to begin with. He was screwing with William and playing him for a fool the entire time, forcing him to go on the defensive multiple times throughout the battle. William imagined himself as the ultimate aggressor with a massive power advantage over someone who should have only put up a feeble resistance at best, and been completely helpless at worst. Mike gave him the ultimate insult by violently stripping that notion away from him, amplified by the fact he wasn't even really trying. For those of you who have played the Sans battle before, imagine having to deal with the frustration of that battle, only with even MORE unfair bullshit thrown it, all while the Sans-equivalent is viciously mocking and insulting you with much more vitriol and hatred than Sans ever did. Like Mike said before, he doesn't give a single flying fuck about treating William Afton with any sort of honor, respect, or dignity. It's not like the bastard deserves any of it.
The second reason is because Mike was focused on verbally assaulting William just as much as he was trying to attack him directly. He thoroughly despises William for MANY reasons, and he had a LOT of shit that he wanted to say and get off his chest. Much of what he wanted to condemn William Afton for throughout their battle has now been spoken and done, and when the next stage begins he'll focusing a lot more on pressing his attack properly.
The third reason is that Mike wanted to, in his own way, demonstrate that he's fighting alongside his kids rather than claiming revenge for himself. He has the power of imagination at his command, and he could have attacked William in other ways that would have been a lot more powerful, vicious, and effective from the get-go. Instead, Mike chose to incorporate the animatronics into his fighting style to show that, even though he might be focused on revenge, he hasn't forgotten the ones he cares about, the ones he's fighting to get revenge for in the first place.
And finally, I feel like I should address William Afton's mental state, and why he didn't do anything apart from blindly charge and attack Mike with his claws. William has spent a year in Hell by now, and has spent much longer trapped in the body of Springtrap. Years of torment has eroded his mind and his intelligence, leaving him little better than a savage beast. He might still think himself to be the genius that he once was, but the fact that he wandered into a trap pizzeria that he KNEW was a lie says all you need to know about his mental state. His entire mental state revolves around violence and murder, with no thought to strategy or the cunning he once employed as a human. Even when he was fighting the ghost kids and winning, he still used the same basic strategy against them that he did against Mike. But Mike has proved once and for all that William's old way of doing things won't work against him. William will have to think about how to wield the demonic power he stole from the Nightmare children, or else the only thing he will enjoy is a slow, inevitable crawl to defeat as Mike wears him down again and again…
My apologies to anyone who was hoping for more intense "action." Mike might have been toying with William Afton for the first stage of the battle, but both of them are done fucking around. I can assure you that the next stage of the battle will be very different from this one.
Hope you guys enjoyed! Below is a list of Mike's attacks as well as my inspiration for them. Hopefully the descriptions will make it easier for you to understand what I envisioned while writing this battle.
Reaper's Fury – Mike summons six giant scythe blades made of darkness in a circle and hurls them towards the enemy. This spell is essentially the Excalibur spell from Fire Emblem 7 and 8, except it is Darkness-themed instead of Wind-themed.
Black Lightning – Mike rains down lightning bolts fueled by the powers of darkness. Inspired by Asriel Dreemur's Shocker Breaker attack.
Wall of Spears – Mike summons a wall of black spears from the ground to either protect himself or try to impale his enemies.
Dark Wall of Wind – Mike creates a barrier of black howling wind around his body to protect himself from any attack. Enemies that hit the barrier are knocked back a large distance. Inspired by the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card of the same name.
Darkfire Smash – Mike viciously punches an enemy with a fist imbued with the powers of darkness. Inspired by Thanos punching/blasting his enemies with the Power Stone.
Freddy – basically a FNAF-themed Gaster Blaster. 'Nuff said.
Bonnie – Bonnie's eyes shoot out an intense light that blinds and stuns anyone who is looking towards his direction. The attack cannot cause direct harm, but can render an enemy helpless against incoming attacks. Can be countered by closing one's eyes or by looking away before the flash occurs. Inspired by Bonnie's UCN mechanic.
Chica – Chica lets out a hideous screech that deafens anyone who hears it. The attack cannot cause direct harm, but can render an enemy more vulnerable against incoming attacks. This attack is not as debilitating as Bonnie's but can be effective from any direction, not just in front. Can be countered by covering one's ears before the scream.
Foxy – A spectral manifestation of Foxy the Pirate charges at an enemy, attacking frenziedly with hook and claw. The simulacrum has high attack speed and damage, but has low defensive stats and will fall quickly to a prolonged assault.
Golden Freddy – Same as Freddy, but can turn into Shadow Freddy blasters. The Shadow Freddy blasters are completely invisible save for their eyes and mouth, including their beams. The only way to tell when they are about to attack is if the movement of their teeth changes.
Scrap Baby – Summons two copies of Scrap Baby's metal pincer to attack an enemy. The claws can attack from multiple sides and can deal heavy damage if they successfully catch an enemy in a lethal vice grip.